Baptista Brace Helps Men’s Soccer Blank UC Davis

Saturday, October 14

Davis, Calif.

3:00 p.m.

UC Riverside

2-9-3, 2-3-1

UC Davis

5-6-3, 2-3-1

Team	1	2	Final F
UC Riverside	2	1	3
UC Davis	0	0	0

10/14/2023 5:31:00 PM | Men's Soccer

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Riverside put in a complete performance on Saturday in a 3-0 win over UC Davis at the Aggie Soccer Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

UCR's aggressive early buildup took just two passes to put the ball into the attacking third, where Edward Castro looked to continue his hot streak but was denied at the near post. Aside from that chance, UC Davis put on a high press in the opening 15 minutes of action. Castro found another lane down the sideline in the 18th minute, but decided to cross this one - only to see it deflected over the bar.
AJ Meade-Tatum and Noah Lopez created another quick buildup on the break in the 24th minute before Diogo Baptista launched a ball into the upper 90 for the Brazilian's first goal of the season.
Baptista increased UC Riverside's lead to 2-0 lead in the 32nd minute to make it two braces in as many matches for UCR. The back line was called to action minutes later in a scramble in front of Carlos Gonzalez.
UCR was forced into another goal line clearance in the 47th minute, forcing the ball over the end line for an Aggie corner. Gonzalez punched the corner away to preserve the clean sheet.
UC Davis resumed its high press and forced Gonzalez into yet another tough situation, making him protect the near post in the 51st minute.
Things got chippy as the match came to a slow close. UC Riverside went a man up after a straight red in the 56th minute on a hard challenge to Brendan Clark, then took full advantage in the 64th minute with an open-net goal from Armando Ibarra Jr.
Gonzalez stayed on his line for the save in the 69th minute, denying UC Davis a clear opportunity to get on the board.

FROM COACH CUPELLO

"It was a gutsy performance on the road. I'm extremely proud of the product we put on the field today against a difficult opponent and the whole team played very well."

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

UCR's three points in Davis gave them the first road win of 2023, second straight over the Aggies and first at UC Davis since 2016.
Gonzalez recorded the 13th clean sheet of his career with three saves and is now three shy of tying Charles Alamo for the most in program history.
Castro has now scored or assisted on a goal in all four of UCR's October matches, dating back to the October 4 win over Sacramento State.

UP NEXT

UC Riverside will play its final road match of 2023 on Wednesday when the Highlanders travel to No. 13 Cal State Fullerton for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff on ESPN+.